Blog Archives
February 22, 2004
More thoughts on Moksha for the Moksha Ritau:
"Moksha comes when earthly karma has been resolved, dharma well performed and God fully realized. Each soul must have performed well through many lives the varna dharmas, or four castes, and lived through life's varied experiences, in order to not be pulled back to physical birth by a deed left undone. All souls are destined to achieve moksha, but not necessarily in this life. Hindus know this and do not delude themselves that this life is the last. While seeking and attaining profound realizations, they know there is much to be done in fulfilling life's other goals (purusharthas): dharma, righteousness; artha, wealth; and kama, pleasure. Old souls renounce worldly ambitions and take up sannyasa in quest of Parasiva, even at a young age. Toward life's end, all Hindus strive for Self Realization, the gateway to liberation. After moksha, subtle karmas are made in inner realms and swiftly resolved, like writing on water. At the end of each soul's evolution comes vishvagrasa, total absorption in Siva. The Vedas say, "If here one is able to realize Him before the death of the body, he will be liberated from the bondage of the world." Aum Namah Sivaya." -- Gurudeva
Here is Bodhinatha in front of the fabulous carvings in Mahabalipuram, called "Arjuna's Penance," more photos from the final days of innersearch below.
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Dr. Virender Sodhi with his wife Rekha and two sons Guni and Rishi came for darshan with Bodhinatha and a tour of the Aadheenam today. Dr. Sodhi is a well-respected Ayurvedic physician in Seattle and Washington and has been coming to do a physical on each of the monks every two years. Now he is also involved with other health care practitioners on Kauai, who he got to know through Gurudeva. He has been asked to give consultations with patients to help guide them to health with the wisdom of Ayurveda.
The Sodhi family with Paramacharya Ceyonswami. Dr. Sodhi related that when he came face-to-face with Gurudeva for the first time in Seattle many years ago, Gurudeva gave him a Sivalingam, which he has worshipped daily since. Guni, the older of the two boys on the left is entering college this year and both boys plan to join the family business.
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2004 Indian OdysseyJanuary 19, 2004 - February 5, 2004 |
Today we wake up in the sea coast town of Pondicherry, with a few hours of free time to take in the beauty of this town, a long time colony of France, now a "Union Territory" of India.
From the web:
"NIC Pondicherry UT Centre was set up in the year March 1988 and there are four districts namely Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe & yanam. The NIC Pondicherry UT unit and District Centre function together at the Secretariat Complex in Pondicherry. The NIC Karaikal District Centre was set up in November 1988 and the Mahe & Yanam district centres have become operational in August 1994 & June 1994 respectively.
Pondicherry UT is unique in the sense that the districts are not adjacent to each other unlike in other states/UT's. Pondicherry & Karaikal are in the state of Tamilnadu with a distance of 160 Kms apart from each other. Mahe is in Kerala adjacent to Calicut and Yanam in Andhra Pradesh adjacent to Kakinada. These are the French settlements when they arrived in India. It is the only UT in the country apart from Delhi, where Legislature & Council of Ministers are functioning."
Pondicherry, the Window to the French Culture in India, the land of national poets like Mahakavi Bharatiyar and Bharathidasan and the land of spritualism where Saint Aurobindo and his disciple Mother lived, has been linked to all the three regions thro' NICNET.
The fishermen have already left for the work on the waves.
It's a peaceful sea that stretch out into the Bay of Bengal.
Back in town life awakens. Pondicherry has an interesting mix of cultures with strong overtones of French customs and shops intermingled with Tamil signs. It reminds us a bit of Mauritius and Reunion in the India ocean.
Its always an uplifting sight to catch the ladies at their morning work of drawing out kolam designs on freshly washed streets, walkways and entrances. This is such a delightful art form and a great contribution to the spiritual moral of the whole community of every new day. They work with awesome speed and grace, having done this daily for years and years. Our hearts swell with appreciation for this service they perform for us all.
Even in modern "Pondi", the bullock cart still has a place. Moving loads of sand seems to be one of their main jobs this morning in Pondicherry.
This Kesav Mallia who came in from Chennai to meet us. He is one of our Hinduism Today correspondents in India.
We also had a meeting with Mr. Ganeshan from the Pondicherry Institute of Indology which is subsidized the French government. He is newly appointed and in charge of the section on Saiva Siddhanta. He is a scholar of the Agamas and meeting him was one of the main reasons Bodhinatha wanted to stop today in Pondicherry. Bodhinatha is watching their progress and wants to have one of the key agamas brought into modern English.
Some of our monks visit the institute in 1987, at which time 1000's of precious ola leaf documents were sitting virtually unprotected in burlap bags in the basement. We are so happy to learn that, while there is not a lot of funding for this project the new French director of the institute realized their importance and now these ola leaf documents are housed in an air-conditioned, atmosphere controlled room, safe and sound until the time and funds appear to make digital copies of everything.
We are staying at the lovely "Ananda Inn" which has some fascinating carvings inside the hotel.
Bodhinatha, walking to the Ananda Ashram for our visit with long time friends there.
Ladies watching the parade of Innersearchers.
Little did we know that this short visit for "lunch" turned out to be an inspirational experience for everyone, thanks to the immense preparations made by the Ashram.
Kolams are everywhere, from simple....
to complex....
Dr. Swami Gitananda and his wife Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani have been long time friends of Gurudeva, the monks and Hinduism Today. Dr. Gitananda who has since passed away, did great service in the propagation of the principles of Yoga through his many organizational and teaching vehicles. Meenakshi is a great writer and has contributed many articles to Hinduism Today. Coming to Ananda Ashram is always a blissful Satsang between collaborators normally separated by many miles.
We stand in the main meeting and dining hall as all the ashramites sing and chant for us.
The logo of the Ashram on the wall.
Meenakshi delivers a heartfelt welcome to the whole group.
While the Innersearch participants are given a tour of the ashram, we take a few moments for a private talk with Meenakshi and her son Dr. Ananda Balayogi who is the new head of the ashram.
Meenakshi doesn't use computers, nor does she watch TV. We sense that this somehow contributes to her powerful abilities at writing and speaking.
A view from the top of the Ashram where students come for months of in-depth demanding training in yoga and "Rishi Culture."
Then we had a surprise presentation of the most fantastic exhibition of yoga asanas we have ever seen in our lives, performed by students of the Ashram, many of whom have won national and international championships in Hatha Yoga.
Ananda Balayogi introduces the male students. He has been reading Hinduism Today since he was a lad, and now today, married and taking a leadership role at the Ashram, he is doing a great job carrying forward the work of his father and mother. He insightfully commented "Many publications are beautifully designed and executed but have little substance. Others have great content but poor design. Hinduism Today is rare because, not only is it beautifully designed, and printed, but it also has great content to match."
Our Innersearchers are enthralled with the unexpected treat of hatha yoga asanas and Bharata Natyam performance.
The presentations were a testimony to the depth of dedication, discipline, commitment and will power that this family and everyone here inspires in their students. Gurudeva would have been really inspired to see this. We really feel a kinship for their wonderful work. Thank you Meenakshi and Balayogi for hosting us in such a special way!
After lunch at the ashram we drove to the famed town of Mahabalipuram for a short afternoon visit. Here, most of our Kauai sculpted pieces have been made over the years. A little bit of sightseeing here and some shopping. It's the ideal place to find special murthis for the home shrine.
Bodhinatha before the famed carvings of "Arjuna's Penance."
Our Innersearchers climb to the top of ancient stone works... so very old... even the style of carving and fitting is nothing like we have seen recently.
Deva Rajan related some very interesting facts about this area: "No one really knows how old these carvings are... there is a bit of controversy surrounding this area which extends for many miles out under the sea.... huge stone works from long ago. Marine geologists are saying that according to their measurements of deposits and other such verifiable scientic data, these under water structures must have been made no later than 10,000 years ago... meanwhile some other archaeologists are saying, this is not possible, to have a civilization this sophisticated that long ago.... "
Whatever that past... one can certainly feel some great ancient power emanating from the bedrock which is all around us here at Mahabalipuram.
We still have a long drive to get to our last destination of Chennai... we stop for an outdoor evening picnic supper served by the ocean at Taj at Fisherman's Cove just south of Chennai. A great place to stay if you want to have a five-star retreat one day.
Back at home... an experiment:
Here is what happens if you take a picture of yourself in the mirror. One gets perhaps a better rendition of the real nature of the inner being that the physical face?
Today's Inspired Talk |
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Title: Work Is Worship Category: Good Conduct Duration: 13 minutes 60 seconds Date Given: January 9, 2004 Date Posted: February_22_2004 Given by: Bodhinatha |
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2005 Indian Odyssey
The 2004 Indian Odyssey was a great success. Ninety pilgrims spent 21 days together with Bodhinatha in Malaysia and South India. Our next Himalayan Academy Travel Study Program is planned to be a 10-day cruise on the South side of the equator, with ports of call in New Zealand and Australia, and events with local Hindu communities there. We expect this to be held in the fall of 2005, in October or November, depending on ship routes. There have been three Innersearch cruises, all very focused on classes. If you would like to get to know Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and Gurudeva's remarkable metaphysical teachings first hand and explore the Hindu spiritual tradition with Gurudeva's monks and with others on the path, start saving now to join us. Send a message to our coordinator, Sadhaka Dandapani, to put your name on an advance notice list to make sure you get details as soon as they are out. |
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